Having seen it applied to nearly every topic, I thought of one for books and then quickly thought of twenty-seven more. They all revolve around bookworms/readers or authors. Sure, some are more “true” than “funny” but whatever. Without further ado…

Bookworm Memes

With the launch of The Initiation behind me, it’s time to get back to two things I’ve been neglecting: my blog, and memes. Sure, the book launch was slightly more important, and only two weeks in, remains so. What better way to combine all three things than a post containing memes inspired by The Initiation? If you’ve read the book, these will probably make sense, and if you haven’t perhaps it will pique your interest (but there are no spoilers and you don’t need to have read the book to understand these). It might help to know that The Initiation is a realistic YA dystopian thriller set in post-apocalyptic NYC, mostly in the subway. So, yeah. You’re here, I’m here, let’s do this.

Improving technology and poor access to contraception have been causes

The impact on human life and the planet has been devastating

Not everyone agrees we are overpopulated

There are warning signs that things are going to get worse

Alternative energy, education, and empowerment of women could help

Welcome to part four of my five-part series on apocalypses. Here we focus on overpopulation. Click here for part one, which explores apocalypses in fiction and why they’re usually absurd. Here for part two, which covers our first cause, cyberterrorism. Here for part three, on superbugs.

Welcome to part three of my five-part series on apocalypses. Part one (here) focused on the importance of crafting realistic apocalypses in fiction, while the others detail the actual causes—as I see them—in my upcoming novel The Initiation. Part two (here) highlighted cyberterrorism, a problem with arguably greater risk than nuclear war. And here in part three we’re focusing on superbugs, another catastrophe in waiting. Unfortunately, nobody is talking about it.

As a forty year-old bond trader, I wrote two novels and signed a 3-book deal with a publisher. I did this with little formal writing experience, no creative writing classes, no writing coach, no writing degrees, no writer’s conferences, no writing groups, no critique partners, and no friends who are authors. Want to know how? I’m glad you asked. Read on!

The first cause of the apocalypse in my upcoming young adult novel The Initiation is cyberterrorism, a subject that on the surface needs little introduction. You can’t go to the bathroom without hearing someone in the next stall talking about the federal investigation into the Russian hack of the 2016 US presidential election. As impactful as that hack was, the risk of cyberterrorism is hardly limited to national elections. In fact, it’s far greater. (For Part 1 of this 5-part series on apocalypses, click here). This post illustrates why cyberterrorism has the potential to be catastrophic.

HOW THE WORLD WILL REALLY END

Wouldn’t it be nice if books and movies contained even remotely believable apocalypse scenarios? Sure, a tidal wave that engulfs skyscrapers looks cool in CGI, but a rogue wave is not destroying the whole world. Sorry. There are so many realistic potential causes in existence today that we don’t need to resort to stupid ones, as fun as they might be. This is the beginning of a five-part series on apocalypses. My young adult novel The Initiation, out February 27th, takes place long after an apocalypse. It’s not the focus of the story. Still, I wanted readers to say, “Yeah, that could totally happen.” Not, “I don’t think fruitflies taking over the world is a big risk.” After this introduction, the following four parts detail the causes I’ve found to be the most likely. At one time, this series was offered as an ebook on my website, but I wanted to move it to the blog. If you’ve already read it, I apologize!

Do you know the average trade size for an amateur stock investor? Neither do I. Let’s say it’s $5,000. It’s probably lower, but whatever. $5,000 invested in the S&P 500 Index in 2010 would be worth over $11,000 today. Up almost 125%! In seven years, that’s a fantastic return. Of course, if you pick stocks like I do, and invested in a company that makes bottled water for dogs and cats, it would be worth $0 now. How about if you’d invested $5,000 in Bitcoins? It would be worth almost $400 MILLION. Yes, you read that right. Bitcoin, which currently trades close to $4,000, traded around 5 cents back in 2010, after its debut in 2009. There are now over 900 other digital coins out there, most trading for pennies. Think it might be time to start paying attention?

Young Adult Fiction Author Style

Since I left the corporate world to write full-time, my wardrobe needs have changed. My charcoal and navy suits are collecting dust in my closet, praying a wedding will thrust them into the limelight once again. Now I favor pajama pants and slippers. Pretty much around the clock. My descent into slipperdom involved a minor international incident, though.

Catching Up With My Editor

Batman had Robin. Sherlock Holmes had Dr. Watson. Han Solo had Chewbacca. Harry had Ron and Hermione. Shrek had Donkey. I could keep going. Everyone needs a sidekick. Every writer also needs an editor. Joseph Heller, Toni Morrison, and John Le Carre had Robert Gottleib. Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald shared Maxwell Perkins. Has any writer’s editor also been their sidekick? I have no idea. But mine is.